Newcastle United have reportedly moved to the brink of signing Chelsea defender Lewis Hall on a permanent basis.
Having initially been viewed as a top prospect at Stamford Bridge and earning minutes in the first team, eyebrows were raised when Chelsea gave the green light to a loan switch to St James' Park last summer.
However, the move came with a number of important factors. Chelsea needing to boost their financial position as soon as possible, while members of Hall's family are long-term supporters of the Magpies.
For a move to be facilitated, though, Chelsea needed to agree to an initial loan with Newcastle obligated to pay £28m to sign the left-sided player on a full-time basis should certain clauses be met.
While it was anticipated that it would be a foregone conclusion, Newcastle have remain tight-lipped over what conditions need to be met at a time when the 19-year-old has rarely been used.
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Lewis Hall's lack of game time
Before the March international break, the England Under-21 international had made just one Premier League start all season and recently went as long as two months without a single first-team outing.
Newcastle's injury crisis means that has now changed, with Hall accumulating 202 minutes across three Premier League games in the space of a week.
With a total of six starts and nine substitute outings to his name in all competitions, and Chelsea realistically only agreeing to favourable conditions when agreeing the loan deal, the belief has been that Hall will cross the threshold required for games played.
Nevertheless, according to Chronicle Live, a permanent transfer being finalised has been dependent on Newcastle achieving a minimum finishing position.
Rather than the North East outfit simply avoiding relegation, it is claimed that Eddie Howe's side need to finish higher than 15th position in the standings.
When could that target be achieved?
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Newcastle currently sit in eighth position in the Premier League table, just two points adrift of Manchester United who are in sixth.
In terms of finishing no lower than 14th, though, Newcastle are 17 points clear of Crystal Palace with just seven games remaining, helped by their 1-0 victory at Fulham on Saturday.
With 18 points separating them to 15th-placed Brentford, who have played a game more, it effectively leaves the Bees needing to win each of their final six matches to prevent the Hall transfer from going through.
That is of particularly good news for Chelsea who allegedly need to generate a substantial money to fulfil all Premier League rules before the next accounting date of June 30.
Darren Plant
